Politically as well as culturally, Minneapolis is one of the Midwest's more progressive cities. Its civic-minded businessmen like their suits conservative and their politics enlightened. Since the 1940s, the Democratic-Farmer-Labor coalition has produced a series of dynamic liberal mayors, including Hubert Humphrey and the incumbent, Arthur Naftalin. Thus Minneapolis seemed unlikely to succumb to the mayoral campaign of a political novice whose principal pledge was "to take the handcuffs off the police." Yet that is just what happened last week.
Police Detective Charles S. Stenvig, 41, an independent with a ragtag organization, rolled over Republican City Council President Dan...
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
